Cover Up
by MysticApples
Summary: Blu and Red Mann, The robot wars, red and blu, , the gravel wars, Gray mann, the administrator, they are all part of a massive cover up. But what for? Its been decades since the robot wars, but a more threatening menace then the cold hearted machines is about to rise.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

Old propaganda posters hung on the dust plastered walls. Dim lights that shone above it were about to blink out. The car gently swayed from side to side as the train clicked down the track. Outside the car, the sun was just about to set, conveniently between two mountains, covered in a lush forest. Below was a crystalline lake, suspiciously clear, but beautiful none the less. The receding sunlight glimmered off the top off the lake and shimmered in the mist above. A small breeze blew through the open door of the car; it was warm, but cool at the same time. The sky was painted with brilliant purple near the top, and slowly turning from red to yellow.

Few birds flew across the sky, dancing in the golden sunlight, through the mist. They chirped in delight as the fresh mist washed up on their feathers as they landed on the surface of the lake. But other than that, everything but the train chugging along the tracks was quiet. It was a breathtaking sight, to be honest.

Someone shifted near the back of the cargo car. A few boxes moved, a slight groan, and soft snoring was heard. Savine glanced slightly towards the source of the sound, stared for a moment, and jumped off the box on which she perched upon. She stood motionless for a few moments, noticed a masked figure sitting cross legged on the ground, playing with a white kitten. The figure's gloved hand tickled the kitten's tummy as it let out some squeals of delight followed by a purr. Savine turned towards the back of the car as the kitten rubbed its head on the masked man's chest. Once she neared the back of the car, she noticed that the light outside was getting dimmer. The sky was now a deep indigo color, with few lights shining on the other side of the lake. She stopped for another second, just to take a peek outside the door, and continued to her destination.

Behind some wooden boxes was a slim, young, man, he had a nicely shaved beard and was wearing a red snowboarder's toque. A brown jacket and a red undershirt were clearly visible. He seemed to be tinkering with a magazine, playing around with different caliber bullets. It took him a while to notice savine standing infront of him. He looked up, blinked as if he was trying to remember where he was, and smiled just a little.

" Hello," he said with a little wave. Savine just smiled back.

"Not the talkative type I presume?"

Savine just plopped down beside him and stared at him. She wanted to speak, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was usually shy, but at least she responded most of the time.

He flinched a bit, and then smiled warmly again. He reached over to his right side and grabbed a can of soda.

" Care for a BONK?" He gestured for her to take it, waving it gently in front of her.

"Thanks… That would be nice…" Savine genuinely plucked the soda can out of his hand and popped it open. She took a small sip of the soda and grimaced.

" Is it too sour? Ah Im sorry, want some water? It'll make the lime flavouring less intense, eh."

"Oh its ok, thank you," Savine answered softly, in a voice comparable to the texture of silk.

The two awkwardly sat in the back of the train, silent. Out side, the train was starting to enter the coniferous forest, but still staying on the track closest to the lake. It was almost pitch dark outside, except for the little bit of light coming from the lamps hanging of the side of the train car. The scene was more beautiful as the train climbed up the mountain. Streaks of blue green, and aquamarine danced across the sky. Tangoing across from each other and weaving back in.

"Beautiful aint it?" The young man asked.

"Breath taking…" she breathed back, "I've never seen the northern lights before."

"Welcome to Canada, eh?" The man joked in his best stereotypical Canadian accent.

Savine giggled. She extended her hand, now no longer shy, and asked," What's your name?"

He smiled back and nodded, "well, what's yours?"

"You first," She poked him on the arm.

" Alright… I'm Eric, Im from Canada, actually, from Alberta. Professional hunter and trapper. Im here for the same reason you are," he paused," lookin' for a job."

He shook her hand and nodded. "Now your turn."

"Savine." She answered in a short, but sweet voice.

"That's it? C'mon there's gotta be something interesting about you," Eric tried to pull some more information from her with a few more questions, but the only thing Savine answered with was a smile. After a while, Eric just gave up.

"What did you sign up for?" Eric asked again, hoping to get a legitimate answer this time.

"I don't know, what did you sign up for?" She asked, playfully.

He pointed to the crosshairs on the side of his jacket, stared up at her and arched his eyebrows, as if queuing her to tell.

She copied him and pointed to the emblem on her right arm, a flame with a circle around it.

"Ah, I see-" Eric was cut off by an uncontrollable yawn. Savine tried not to let that affect her, but three seconds later she yawned as well.

"Sorry, I'm really tired."

"Same. Imma get some shuteye now…seeya in the morning?"

"Sure," She answered as she slumped against the wall and placed her head onto her curled up knees. The sway of the car was mesmerizing, and slowly lolled her to sleep. Her eyes slowly got heavier as she stared at the old (not to mention outdated) propaganda posters hanging on the wall. There was a man with a helmet that covered up most of his face. He was holding a rocket launcher and saluting towards the American flag, eagle perched on top of his shoulder. So very patriot like. She lazily glanced over to the masked man and the kitten, which were now in a deep sleep. The cat had curled up on top of the man's head, whowas sleeping against the wall. How adorable, she thought. And she drifted off to a deep, tranquil, slumber.

Outside, the train clacked down the track, across a bridge beside a magnificent waterfall. Below was another part of the lake where water lilies were being pushed around by the momentum of the falling water. A deer drank from the river bank and dashed off as the train rounded the corner. Huge towering trees covered in moss and variety of lichens loomed overhead. Some lay sideways, forming natural bridges across small brooks deeper in the coniferous forest. Above the scenery, high above the tree canopies, among the stars, a single comet flew by. Trailing a silver-ish light behind as it whooshed across the brilliant night sky.

PS: Hi this is my first actual fanfic, so I hope you enjoy, I don't have too much time on my hands so chapters won't be mega long and expect updates to not be on a regular basis. Hope you understand. Constructive criticism is welcome. Hope you understand, Thanks


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Someone tapped her shoulder and shook her awake.

"Wakey wakey, sleepy head." Eric whispered. Savine slowly opened her eyes to find Eric standing in front of her, arm outstretched. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up with a little groan.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Eric walked over to the doors of the train car and pulled it open just a little more. Bright sunlight shot through the car and a cool breeze blew in. It carried a faint smell of fresh pine leaves and grass. Savine took a small peek outside and was astonished. A gigantic building loomed over the train track. The trees around it did a terrible job at hiding it. The windows were bright blue and streaked from one side of the building to the other. The outside of the building was all painted white, and near the front, there was a pair of what looked like blast doors. A few hundred feet away from the building was a sturdy looking metal wall, floodlights and barbwire ringed around the top. There was also a large sign that hung from the wall that read; WARNING MINEFIELD – property of

"Talk about fortified," Eric huffed, walking towards the doors. Savine nodded and walked back inside. She plopped down on top of an old crate. Its lock glinted in the sunlight and caught her attention. She held it in her hand and inspected it. supply crate #92 was inscribed onto the steel lock. Savine didn't think much of it and let it drop and dangle from the chain that held it close to the large box.

"Let's go outside, get some fresh air ya know?" Eric motioned for her to exit the car with him. She jumped off the crate and skipped over to the exit. Eric helped her get down and held her steady, incase she fell. She took another look at the building and noticed things she didn't earlier. A decent sized dam blocked off some of the water from the large lake. Probably used for getting power. Some electrical cables ran from the rooftop to a small plant near the base of the building. Another waterfall was located by the left side of the building and it ran into a man-made moat in front of the walls.

"What are you guys looking at?" A quiet voice asked from behind. Startled, Savine and Eric both whirled around to find the masked figure standing behind them, cat on his shoulder, licking his paw. He extended his hand and said," Good morning." Eric and Savine both shook it.

"So… what are you guys looking at?" He questioned again.

"Just the white power plant," Eric replied," er… at least I think it is." while taking his toque off and scratching his head. Savine just nodded.

"I see," the masked man said as if he was deep in thought," what are your names?"

"I'm Savine, this is Eric," Savine said while gesturing towards herself, and her new friend.

"Ah, I see," the masked man paused again," I'm Andrew, but you may call me Andy." He smiled and pet his cat on the head.

"Nice to meet you," Eric said," uh…nice cat?"

"Thank you."

"So…." Savine tried to strike up a conversation. Just then, the train whistled and a cloud of smoke rose from the engine.

"We'd better get back inside; the train is starting to leave again." Andy mentioned for them to follow as he helped his kitten get into the car.

"Careful," the masked man reminded the two as they clambered onto the car. Within moments, the train began to chug down the track, leaving the power plant. Savine felt something crawl on her leg and looked down. The white kitten curled up and sat on her lap, rubbing its head on her arm until she pet her.

"I think she likes you," Andy mused, a small chuckle leaving his lips. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. From his other pocket, he pulled out a lighter and went to light the cigarette, now dangling from his mouth. Eric walked over to Savine and reached his hand out. He scratched the kitten behind its ears and knelt down so he was level with its face.

"Hey there little guy" The answer he got was a small mew.

"Her names Marshmallow," Andy offered as he took a puff from his cigarette.

"Hi there Marshmallow," Savine coaxed and ticked its tummy. Marshmallow squealed in delight.

"How much longer?" Eric asked, clearly tired of riding on the train. Andy checked his watch and replied," Ten more minutes." And then he went back to puffing on his cigarette and staring out the opened doors of the car.

To their delight, ten minutes later, the train clunked to a stop. A loudspeaker sounded outside of the long line of cars," WE HAVE REACHED OUR DESTINATION. PLEASE EXIT THE CARS AND LINE UP BESIDE THE ENGINE FOR A HEAD COUNT. " The message ended in a cringe worthy screech as the intercom was being disconnected.

"Let's go," Savine bound over to the doors and leapt out. She looked over her shoulder to check if the two men were following her. Sure enough, she saw Andy and Eric jump out of the car and land on the gravel that covered the tracks. They made their way towards the engine.

At the engine the trio was joined by two others. A man wearing a red trench coat, a military grade helmet, and a few ammo pouches strapped to his thigh. The woman beside the man with the helmet was wearing a red tank top and had a bandana over her hair. She also sported a pair of baggy, gray, pants with a deep pocket on each side. She nodded as they walked towards the head of the engine. The man with the helmet waved back. He looked about the age of 30. The woman with the bandana was juggling a pair of grenades in her hand. She looked over at Savine and smiled. She was about the age of 25, three years older than Savine.

"What's up," a man said as he exited the top of the train engine where the conductor sits. "I trust you are all well rested?" Everyone nodded. "Good, follow me, we will be proceeding in foot for the rest of the way. The Administrator wants the base hidden as best as possible."

The six people walked deeper into the forest, all silent. The conductor jerked up all of a sudden ad whipped around.

"What?" The woman with the bandana asked.

"Just checking to see if you are all present," the conductor sighed, and continued leading the way.

Andy turned to the pair of new acquaintances and asked for names.

"I'm Buck," the man with the helmet answered. Then he pointed to his "friend"," that's Sylvie.

She glanced over and did a casual salute, pointing to the sky with two fingers.

"Nice to meet you," Eric offered his hand out. Buck gave him a fist bump while Sylvie actually shook it.

"What positions?" Savine asked, trying hard to not sound awkward.

"Well isn't it quite obvious?" Buck replied, adjusting his Kevlar that was strapped to his chest. He chuckled and explained," I'm the Soldier, Sylvie's the demo expert"

He then leaned closer to the three and whispered as he put his hand around his mouth," just in case I forget, Sylvie's a mute. She can't talk. The only thing she every mentioned was that she was caught in an unlucky series of events. Don't ask her about it though, she gets really touchy. On the train, I asked her why she was so quiet, and she threw her grenade launcher at me."

"I'll take a note of that," Andy mused as he attempted to light another cigarette. But the breeze was blowing the fire out and pushing the smoke back into their faces. Savine saw Eric scrunching up his face. She rolled her eyes and kept on walking. The group hiked in silence for another ten minutes or so until the conductor broke the silence.

"Welcome to RED base lads, we have reached our destination." He then pointed to the small cluster of building underneath a clearing of trees. It wasn't much to look at. Two huge main sections of the base were painted in red, along with a logo of Reliable Excavation and Demolition painted onto the side. A small wooden hallway connected the bigger buildings to three bunkers. Infront of the bunkers were a pair of garages, and beside that , there sat a rickety tower with a satellite dish perched on top.

"What a sight for sore eyes…" Buck murmured. The conductor just laughed.

"C'mon, I bet it looks better on the inside than the outside," Eric said, trying to be optimistic. But the look on his face told Savine otherwise. Behind them Marshmallow meowed in disgust and slid inside Andy's jacket. Sylvie shrugged and proceeded to the clearing. The conductor led them towards the front of the base. There was a sign that read; RED CAMP DO NOT ENTER UNLESS AUTHORIZED.

A sad looking booth sat in front of the camp, behind it was a wooden wall that encircled the entire place. A bored looking man sat up and fumbled his way to the window. He pulled a lever and the doors attached to the wall opened. The conductor instructed them to go inside the main building. On its walls hung more propaganda posters; this time of a muscular man revving up a minigun. Under it were faded captions that were barely readable.

"I gotta go," the conductor mentioned," you guys just enter the main building to your right and someone should fill you in on the details." He turned towards the booth and stalked over to the exit.

Eric swung open the main doors and held it open for Sylvie and Savine.

"Ladies first."

Sylvie smiled at him and entered, Savine trailing behind her.

"Aren't you a gentleman?" Savine joked once they were all inside.

"I just like being polite." Eric answered, slightly turning pink.

Buck looked around and at the receptionists' desk," there's no one here."

"I see," Andy said, as if deep in thought again. Everyone looked around the room to see if anyone was to be found. After a while they gave up. Savine pulled a chair from the desk and slumped in it. She watched specks off dust float around in the air as the sun beams shone through the only window in the room. Sylvie started juggling grenades again and Andy lit another cigarette. Buck stared at yet another propaganda poster on the wall. Now it was a young lad standing on an unconscious body dressed in blue. In his hand, he held a bloodied base ball bat. The only readable caption on the bottom of the poster was the date, 1978.

"You shouldn't smoke ya know, you might get cancer," Eric nudged Andy with his elbow while trying to impersonate the narrator of one of those, "don't take drugs or alcohol" commercials. Andy arched his eyebrows and replied in an irritated voice," I'll keep that in mind."

After a few more moments of silence, a creak of un-oiled hinges sounded behind Savine.

"Good, you're all here, let's get started, shall we?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

The woman standing behind them wore all purple. The only colors that brought some contrast were her black shoes and her white collar. She had her black hair tied up behind her head using a purple elastic and was carrying five files.

"I trust that you are all ready to sign in? Your work begins in two days."

"Er….Who are you again?" Buck asked, twiddling with his thumbs. The woman in purple looked like she was in her late 30s, perhaps even early 40s.

"You may call me Mrs. Pauling, I will be your 'administrator' for most of your tasks. Now please follow me, we haven't any time to waste."

She turned around and strutted towards the exit, her shoes clomping along the wooden floorboards. Eric was the first one to follow, and as if on que, everyone else followed the administrator down the hall and out the door. Outside, Mrs. Pauling motioned for them to follow her as she walked past the bunkers. As they walked, she looked over her shoulder and said, "This isn't really the RED base you know, our real base is a few miles west, but we can't risk anyone knowing. Not even our employed colleagues." She flicked her hand in the direction of the bored man in the booth.

"Great, more travelling," Savine whined.

"Oh no no, I assure you, there will be no more hour long road trips," Pauling mused while punching some numbers into a control panel beside one of the bunkers. The old rusty doors creaked and groaned. Finally it started to lift up, revealing two bright red objects, illuminating the room.

"One at a time please, don't worry, it's totally safe."

Andy looked down at the glowing metal contraptions spinning wildly in front of him.

"Are you sure?" He hollered back at the administrator.

"Its fine, look," Pauling stepped onto one of the teleporters and in a flash of red light, she vanished.

The group looked at each other anxiously. No one wanted to go first. But neither of them wanted to keep Pauling waiting.

"Ok, I'll go first, nothing to it right? Just… ya know.. having your particle bonds ripped apart and then reconfigured aint so bad? Heh... heh." Eric laughed nervously. Behind him, Savine noticed Sylvie getting impatient. She blew her snow, white hair away from her face and huffed. Savine was just about to suggest that she would enter first instead but Sylvie shoved Eric forward.

"Hey-" Eric's cry of surprise was cut short as he was surrounded in a sarcophagus of light and whisked away. Savine glared at Sylvie and raged," What was that for?! He could've gone in without help just fine!"

Sylvie crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue. Savine was just about to respond when Sylvie shoved her onto one of the teleporters. She stumbled a bit and regained her posture. Savine was about to give Sylvie a piece of her mind when she was engulfed in red, and like Eric, whisked away to the remote Red base.

Buck grabbed Sylvie by the shoulders and turned her around.

"What the heck are you doing?! What's wrong with you?" Sylvie elbowed him in the ribs, not hard, but hard enough for buck to back off.

Andy stepped between the two.

"Please, allow me." He stalked over to the teleporter with a cigarette in his mouth and a hand carrying his kitten. He too vanished in a blanket of red light. Buck and Sylvie followed suite, each standing on one of the two teleporters, waiting to join up with the group.

Savine felt queasy. She clutched her stomach as she tried to regain her posture. Her right foot accidentally crossed over her left and she tripped. She quickly brought up her hands to break the fall but someone caught her instead.

"Careful." Eric said while hoisting her up with his arm. He smiled a little and helped her up.

"Thanks.. I don't feel too well."

"Don't worry about that," Mrs. Pauling said," Your body will get used to it after three or four more teleports."

Savine nodded. The soft hum of the contraption whirred again, it sounded like a overheating laptop. Red sparks flashed above the telepad and out stepped Andy, cradling Marshmallow in his arms.

"Well now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Andy coaxed his frightened kitten. He looked up at them and nodded. Soon, Sylvie and Buck both appeared above the telepads and stumbled out.

"I feel like shit," groaned the soldier. The demo-woman clutched her stomach and propped herself up with her grenade launcher.

Savine glanced back to see Sylvie walking towards her. She put her hands on her hips and pulled a frown.

"Come to apologize?" Sylvie stretched her arms out and gave Savine a hug. For someone as skinny as Sylvie, her strength was surprising. It felt like someone had sucked all the air out of Savine's lungs and crushed her ribcage. The novice pyro was taken by surprise. She awkwardly eased her muscles and hugged her back.

"Apology accept." She said. Sylvie pulled back and smiled.

"Let's go meet the others?" Pauling suggested.

"Sure, been dying to meet 'em," Eric retorted, a little too enthusiastically. Buck gave a quick thumbs up and Andy shrugged.

After a short walk, the group made it to RED base. It was magnificent. A huge building loomed over a row of bunkers and a medical lab. Beside it were rows of trucks and ammo crates. If you looked closely enough, you could just make out the outline of three storage warehouses hidden behind the main building. While they walked, Savine noticed the dormitory was built into the side of the mountain. Beside it stood a puny electrical plant with wires running to the top of each building in the base. She hadn't noticed this before, but a cliff was located towards the left of the base. There were a few fences, but nothing else to prevent hundred meter falls with.

"Please, go inside, meet your team. I will be back at seven o'clock while you guys eat dinner. We will have a discussion about your jobs then. Toodles." Pauling waved them off and turned to the large building, carrying their files under her arm.

Buck grabbed the door and pushed it open. He went inside and held the door open for everyone.

Eric nodded a thanks and Savine just smiled. Sylvie gave him a fist bump.

"Thank you very much." Andy said, deep in thought, as he strutted into the room.

"There's no one here." Eric complained, sounding disappointed. He flapped his arms around and spun in a few circles.

"Stop acting restless; let's go have a look around. Maybe we'll run into some of them along the way." Suggested Savine.

"Welcome to yer new home." The lights behind them flicked on. A woman wearing a wielder's mask and a toolbelt welcomed them.

"Im the engineer here, you can call me Shelly if you want. C'mon, Ill introduce you to the team. She put her blowtorch on her belt and walked down the hallway to their right.

Shelly pushed through another set of doors and entered a brightly lit room. Inside, Savine saw three more figures. She couldn't make out any details until she entered the room because the frosted windows distorted the images of the people behind it. Once she entered the room, she saw three men, two sitting in conference chairs by a table playing poker, and one sitting on the carpet next to a tv, mashing his fingers on a controller.

"Ey boys, git over here for a sec!" The engineer hollered at them. The two men abruptly stopped their game and threw their cards down on the table, stood up, and walked up towards the door.

"That means you too. Zhang!"

"C'mon, this is the boss fight, I've been grinding for hours to get to this!" The person by the tv whined.

"I will stick my wrench through your console of you don't git yer butt over here this instant." Shelly threatened, but her voice was calm.

Zhang groaned and paused his game. He grabbed his cola and ran towards the door.

A slim man with a lab coat on smiled warmly. He shook everyone's hand.

"I am the medic, nice to meet you," He said in a foreign accent, careful not to mess up any pronunciation. His looked like he was from India and wore a pair of thick glasses. Savine couldn't help but imagine the medic as one of those stereotypical nerds you'd find in movies about high school life. But, she knew to keep that to herself.

The man beside the medic did not smile, his nose twitched a little, but that was it. He didn't stick out his hand or anything, but stare at the 5 newcomers. Silently judging them as his serious eyes scanned over every detail of their bodies. Finally he opened his mouth and spoke. It looked like it took him a lot of effort as his muscular exterior rose while he spoke.

"I am heavy, is all you need to know." He then pointed to a huge minigun propped beside the table with the cards." That is Sasha, my gun," he paused and leaned in closer. So close Eric could feel his breath on his face. "Do. Not. Touch. Sasha." He glowered.

Eric and Buck, the closest to the heavy looked a bit shaken up.

"Got it," Savine flashed heavy a double thumbs up. He nodded in approval.

"Yo whattup?! I'm the scout here," Zhang pointed to himself," obviously the most important class there is." He paused to chug down his cola. Then he continued," If you guy just listen to my advice, you'll be good to go, first off, boundaries. We gotta have boundaries. You see those minifridges back there? Thos are filled with my favorite cola. Do not ever go near that place, got it? That's where I-"

"Ok I think that's enough," Shelly interrupted.

"Hey, I wasn't done yet." Zhang complained

"Little Chinese man talks too much." Heavy leaned on the table and shook his head.

"Oh yeah? Jokes on you, im only seventeen, im not legally an adult yet, moron!"

"Do you wish for me to pound you into ground, little baby man?"

"Oh yeah, I'm real scared," The scout taunted.

Eric looked back at Savine," quite a bunch eh?"

"Sure is," Savine's eyes widened as the heavy picked Zhang up and stuck his head under his beefy arm, giving the scout a massive nuggie.

"Well, that isn't usually how we folks are, it's just that the things that have happened recently are quite taxing on all of us. Heh…heh…." Shelly laughed uneasily, clearly embarrassed.

"Oh, and what might those events be?" Asked Andy.

"I'll tell you guys later, c'mon, let's go grab a bite shall we?"

"Ah, yes, I am starving" The medic said as he left the room," I am craving the pizza." He chuckled to himself as he pranced down the hallway, towards mess hall. Shelly followed him and told the heavy and scout to move along. Savine and the gang followed behind the heavy, who was now carrying the scout over his shoulder with an amused smile on his face.

"Lemme go you bald fat fatty fat fat fat!" Zhang wailed while pounding in the massive russian's back.

Savine heard Sylvie giggle behind her.

She took another look at the heavy and something inside her stirred.

She felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

But couldn't remember where.


End file.
